Down the Mine!

Spring, Day 6, Saturday, Windy, 6:00 AM.

Early in the morning, Daeren's eyes snapped open right on time.

He first looked at the extinguished fireplace. The red Dragon eggs lay quietly in the ashes.

"Another energetic day."

Daeren smiled and got out of bed nimbly to start his chores.

Watering, petting the chicks, collecting eggs, checking the Mailbox...

"Cluck cluck cluck..."

"Woof woof~~"

After a flurry of chicken and dog chaos, the farm settled into peace.

"Four eggs and one Yellow Daffodil..."

"Digging up stones yielded a piece of coal and a copper ore. The Mailbox has a new Furnace recipe."

Daeren sat by the door, inventorying the useful items one by one.

The appearance of the Furnace recipe came with a guiding quest from the panel.

[Begin Forging: If you wish to continue mining, you must build a Furnace.]

-- Craft a Furnace.

The Furnace recipe is one of the most important early-game recipes in Stardew Valley.

Crafting a Furnace requires 20 Copper Ore and 25 Stone.

The Furnace is indispensable for smelting various ores into usable metal ingots.

Some might wonder if they can buy the metal ingots needed for crafting items from outside.

No!

Except for the initial 500 Gold Dragon, nothing else can substitute for items within the panel's rules.

Therefore, to craft items like sprinklers or buckets using metal ingots, one must mine them personally.

"Prince, I've found the location of the mine you mentioned."

Ser Jon returned to the farm, beaming.

Daeren's spirits immediately lifted: "Where?"

"Following the information you provided, I suspected the mine might be near a lake, so I searched all around the hills."

"Finally, at the source of the waterfall on your farm, I found the mine lake and the mine entrance."

Ser Jon, though dusty from his travels, couldn't hide his excitement.

Yesterday's good intentions had gone awry. Although the Prince hadn't said anything, the knight felt deeply guilty.

Being able to atone for his mistake was more than welcome.

"Well done, Sir!"

Daeren didn't spare his praise and got his gear ready to depart.

Before leaving, he didn't forget to check the TV program.

[Weather Forecast: Tomorrow will be a cloudy and rainy day, with potential for heavy rain.]

[Fortune Telling: The Sprites are in a good mood today; you're in for some luck.]

Additionally, a third program appeared.

[Living Off the Ground: Welcome to Living Off the Ground, a tip for the residents of Stardew Valley.]

[Check the southeastern part of Westeros Town. Southeast of the town is where the river meets the sea. You can occasionally find clusters of Wild Scallions sprouting from the soil.]

Daeren's face lit up: "Wild Scallions? They've come at the perfect time."

Wild Scallions in spring are naturally generated forageables that provide a small amount of HP and Stamina when consumed.

In Westeros, Wild Scallions would be special wild plants containing a small amount of Vitality.

Mining consumes a lot of Stamina, making food supplies essential.

Vitality is linked to Stamina; Vitality does not equal Stamina;

Consuming special crops has the effect of prolonging life. Top knights often take them, with a chance to awaken Vitality.

Besides this, special crops offer many other benefits.

Injured? Eat a special crop.

Tired and exhausted? Eat a special crop.

The two main risks of mining are:

One, Stamina depletion.

Two, being injured by monsters.

These special crops can be dealt with easily.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Daeren mounted a small chestnut mare and trotted towards the southeastern wild herb gathering spot.

The southeast of Dragon Tongue Farm was roughly between the beach and the forest.

The forest also had a river, and it wasn't far from the farm.

Noon, 11:30.

Daeren gathered a full basket of regular and Silver Star quality Wild Scallions. He also casually chopped down a few large trees from the forest's periphery, crafting a Treasure Chest to carry with him.

Soon, he found the mine lake at the source of the farm's waterfall, as Ser Jon had described.

It was in a secluded location, 1.5 kilometers from the farm, so he wasn't afraid of being disturbed.

After crossing a narrow bridge made of wooden planks, the mine by the lake came into view.

Entering it, he found a blue box, similar to the beginner's gift box.

Poof!

Upon opening it, he found a tattered, rusty iron sword.

[Rusty Sword]: Damage 2-5, Critical Hit Rate 0.02.

"A gift, this broken sword."

Daeren was speechless. It really was this "beginner's artifact."

He picked up the Rusty Sword and compared it with the Steel Longsword he was carrying.

Clang clang!

The two swords clashed, sparks flying.

The Rusty Sword remained battered, unchanged.

Two faint scratches appeared on the blade of the Steel Longsword.

"Weapons provided by the panel cannot be damaged."

Daeren understood.

The Rusty Sword's sharpness couldn't even compare to the Steel Longsword, but it wouldn't break. Annoying, wasn't it?

"Others might agonize over which one to choose, but I'm a dual-wielding swordsman."

Daeren held the Rusty Sword in his right hand and the Steel Longsword in his left, performing a flourish.

He found the mine elevator shaft and placed the Treasure Chest he had crafted beforehand, storing his axe and pickaxe.

The axe was for chopping trees, and the pickaxe for digging Ancient Spots.

Ancient Spots: Shadows resembling a clump of earthworms in Stardew Valley, which yield random artifacts or books when dug.

He checked the items in his inventory: Rusty Sword, Pickaxe, 11 regular Wild Scallions, 6 Silver Star Wild Scallions...

The Steel Longsword wasn't included, as he wore it personally.

The mine entrance was in the center of the cave, a wooden well visible as soon as he entered.

Daeren watched for a moment, admonishing himself, "Be careful, be extremely careful. The ore isn't important. I absolutely cannot get hurt."

Gritting his teeth and closing his eyes, he descended into the mine through the entrance.

Thump!

Daeren landed on the ground. The surroundings were pitch-black rock walls, the uneven ground scattered with stones, occasional patches of weeds, and the air filled with a damp, decaying smell.

"Good luck, no small monsters."

The first level of the mine was a relatively safe area. Even if there were monsters, they wouldn't be very strong.

Green Slimes, Stink Bugs, Maggots, Digging Worms, flies, and the like.

He put away the Rusty Sword, keeping the Steel Longsword at his waist.

Daeren swung his Pickaxe with both hands, smashing stones to find the entrance to the next level of the mine.

Bang!

An inconspicuous stone shattered, yielding a rock and a piece of coal.

"Where's the copper ore?"

Daeren searched around and found two stones with noticeably different colors near a patch of weeds.

They had copper-yellow spots on their surface, clearly copper ore.

Clang clang!

After smashing them four or five times, one stone yielded three pieces of copper ore.

"My hands are numb."

Daeren frowned slightly, sensing things weren't going well.

The mine's stones were excavated with a pickaxe. Each swing required channeling Vitality into his arms and legs; otherwise, it would barely scratch the surface.

Ordinary rocks were manageable, requiring two hits.

But copper ore needed four to five strikes.

Was this a death wish?

"Forget it, I'll just treat it as improving my control over Vitality."

Daeren wiped the sweat from his brow and buried his head, continuing to mine.

On the surface, he was refining his use of Vitality, but in reality, he was out of options.

Evening, 8:00 PM.

Daeren dragged his exhausted body back to the farm with great effort.

Half a day of high-intensity labor yielded... not much.

Inventory: Stone x45, Copper Ore x27, Coal x11, Slime Jelly x4, Maggot Meat x8, Fiber x8, Quartz x2...

Today's achievements: Cleared six levels of the mine, opened an elevator directly to the fifth floor.

Defeated 4 Green Slimes that only made gurgling noises and bumped into him.

Defeated 5 Maggots, 3 Stink Bugs.

Defeated 1 Digging Worm that almost bit his toes.

Losses: Steel Longsword moderately worn (slimes had corrosive properties), 17 common quality Wild Scallions, a heart full of misplaced confidence...

"I'm speechless."

Daeren sighed.

Bang!

He spent 25 Copper Ore and 30 Stone to craft a Furnace, placing it in front of the tilled land.

Accompanied by the jingle of coins, the guiding quest was completed.

[Quest Reward: 100 Gold]

He was frustrated by the insufficient total copper ore, which didn't meet the requirement of 5 ore per smelting.

Daeren put away his day's haul and quickly returned to his hut to sleep.